A personal story about learning Turkish through Turkish TV series, film, music, friendships, and years of studying the Turkish language.

A new post in my student stories series. Haris, one of my students from Atlanta, had loved Türkiye for almost a decade before he ever sat down to learn the language properly. He writes about what finally brought him to lessons, and what changed once structure entered the picture.

For readers in a hurry: Summer in Türkiye has developed around different ways of leaving the heat behind. For centuries, pastoral communities moved their animals to the cooler yayla. Ottoman Istanbul had its sayfiye districts and summer residences. Later came the yazlık, the family summer house, followed by the growth of Aegean and Mediterranean holiday towns and large coastal resorts. Alongside these larger changes are the small habits of an ordinary summer evening: going do

Georgina shares her journey of learning Turkish from Athens, from a first trip to Cappadocia to self-study, speaking struggles and gaining confidence.

Which languages are closest to Turkish? Explore Azerbaijani, Gagauz, Turkmen and other Turkic languages, their similarities and mutual intelligibility.

Urdu and Turkish are unrelated languages, yet they can feel familiar. Explore their sentence structure, shared vocabulary, the name Urdu, and Turkish dramas in Pakistan.

Read one learner's Turkish language journey from a first visit to Istanbul to years of study, friendships, and a lasting connection with Turkish culture.

Learn how to practice speaking Turkish alone at home through self-talk, shadowing, voice recordings, sentence planning, and focused pronunciation practice.

Confused by Turkish case endings? Learn why Turkish uses accusative, dative and ablative with different verbs through one simple system.

What is it like learning Turkish while living in Türkiye? An expat in Ordu shares the challenges of speaking, listening, and building a new life.

Explore the history of yogurt in Turkish culture, from yoğurt and ayran to süzme yoğurt, traditional fermentation and the Greek yogurt debate.

Moving to Türkiye? This practical guide covers residence permits, healthcare, banking, housing, and everyday expat life during your first year.